Making Wi-Fi useful and secure on a Pocket PC

In March I replaced my dead Blackberry 957 with an HP iPaq 2490 Pocket PC. By switching from cellular networking to wi-fi I was able to save the Rogers CAD$24.95/month fee.

However, the default install of Windows Mobile 5.0 lacks some basic features necessary for truly secure mobile computing. Security that is especially important if one is to depend on public wireless hotspots for connectivity.

These three programs go a long way towards filling in the gaps:

PockeTTY
This application serves two purposes. First, it is a functional SSH client for remote administration. Second, it acts as a port forwarder so that any networked application can communicate securely through an SSH tunnel.

Public hotspots mean untrustable networks. But if all of the traffic in and out of your device is encrypted then you needn't worry about snoops.

(To make typing easy I was able to buy an HP Thumb Keyboard sheath that slips on to the bottom of the iPaq. More information here.)



NetFront 3.3 Technical Preview
NetFront supports modern web browser features that Internet Explorer lacks including the especially useful multiple windows and manual proxy settings. It's just a better browser overall.





Resco Explorer 2005
An alternative to the built-in File Explorer, Resco Explorer has handy features like network share browsing/mapping and file encryption.





Links
PockeTTY
NetFront 3.3
Resco Explorer 2005
Pocket SnapIt, a free Pocket PC screenshot tool